seansgamingfandomcom-20200213-history
Desperate Men
Desperate Men The Desperate Men are an elite group of soldiers based out of Waterdeep. History Inception and War versus Jakandor The Desperate Men were the brain child of Knight Captain Calis from the Waterdeep Military. In 1367 Calis was investigating reports of a massive army being formed on the distant continent Jakandor. Calis then tasked Sergeant Bobby DeLongsville with forming a team of elite soldiers in order to investigate/stall the advance of the Jakandor Army. Sergeant DeLongsville chose an unlikely place to recruit. He examined the Waterdeep Prison and Death Row looking for men with combat experience and who were good people (or at least not evil people) who had been caught in bad situations. Among the first recruits of Death Row inmate was Arken Dunlow, a paladin of Torm. After several months of training, Seragent DeLongsville took his unit of 200 Desperate Men on the long voyage to Jakandor. Upon arrival, they learned about the local politics of Jakandor. It seemed that the entire continent had been embroiled in a decades long escalating war among mercenary companies. The mercenary groups would absorb members of vanquished foes, and ultimately a single massive army remained. Unable to bear the weight of their size, it became clear that the only way the leaders could maintain their grip on the army, they had to be at war with someone. Attacking the mainland seemed a logical conclusion. Also, the Desperate Men witnessed a massive boat building and port area being constructed. The Desperate Men impersonated being a mercenary group and was able to integrate inside the Jakandor army. This allowed him and his men to sneak into the newly constructed docks, and strategically place barrels of oil, smoke powder, and various other flammable and incendiary materials in the area. At dawn, the Desperate Men conducted a daring and frantic attack. They overran the docks, and set fire to everything in site. With the materials set the previous evening, the docks and ships were set ablaze quickly. The Desperate Men, then attempted to fight their way out of the city. Outnumbered over 100 to 1, escape was nigh impossible. Miraculously, two members of the team did escape the inferno, and the Jankandor Army. Arken Dunlow and his friend Sho-Pi, managed to fight their way free of the city, and eventually back to their own ship. The two friends, made the long and lonely trip back towards Waterdeep. On the way back, they encountered an Elven Cutter which had come under attack from undead Sahuagin. Arken and Sho-Pi fearlessly boarded the ship and came to the elves rescue. In the process their own ship was sunk. With the help of the two surviving Desperate Men, the elven ship was saved. Their captain, however, had been slain. The elves, grateful for the help, agreed to take Arken and Sho-Pi back towards Waterdeep. Along the way back to Water, the Elven ship known as 'Endeavor' saw significant action. They battled the sahuagin several more times, before finally defeating the Vampire Sahuagin leader in a vicious nighttime battle. Throughout the lengthy trip, Arken earned the respect of the Endeavor Crew, and eventually they came to regard his opinion so highly, that they asked him to stay on as Captain. Arken agreed, under the condition that they also allow him to fulfill his duties as a soldier of Waterdeep. Upon the return to Waterdeep, Arken and Sho-Pi learned that during their extended absence, Sergeant DeLongsville had overseen the recruiting of the next batch of Desperate Men. Arken was elevated to the rank of Sergeant and given command of a wing of the Desperate Men. Under Arken's command, the Desperate Men ventured back to Jakandor and once again set on a path to delaying the advance of the mercenary armies. The hope was that if they were delayed for long enough, logistical demands on the army would eventually cause it to break up. Arken and his men attacked the docks and the supply line of the massive amry, and were marginally successful. They were ultimately forced to flee. Back in Waterdeep, Calis was finally successful in convincing the Lords of Waterdeep of the danger posed by the enormous Jakandor Army. The Desperate Men, and the Arken's ship the 'Endeavor' stayed just in front of the advancing Jakandor army. In a surprising move, the mercenaries did not make towards the Mainland. Instead, they turned towards the Mythical Island of Evermeet. Arken made towards Evermeet with due haste, and brought warning to the Elves. He then stayed on the Island in order to aid in the defense. He allowed the Desperate Men a choice to stay or leave, and to a man, they stayed with their commander. A furious battle between the horde of mercenaries and the defenders of Evermeet ensued. Arken, and the Desperate Men played a key part in the defense, and were the first line of defense that turned back a surprise attack from below orchestrated by Drow. Timely reinforcements from Waterdeep also proved key in the survival of Evermeet. In the aftermath of the War, Arken was elevated in rank in the Waterdeep Army to Knight Captain, and was given rank in the Evermeet army as well. The surviving Desperate Men came home to a heroes welcome. Continuation of the Desperate Men and the Githyanki War After the events of the Jakandor War, the Desperate Men continued to train and recruit in their unorthodox fashion. They have participated in every official Waterdeep Military engagement, and many unofiicial engagements. Their unique backgrounds allow them to fit in with all sorts of nefarious organizations, and thus they are often used in infiltration missions, and in small unit urban engagements. When the Githyanki invaded Faerun, in the year 1374, the Desperate Men were at the forefront of the resistance. Arken Dunlow and Sho-Pi returned to lead a unit of the Desperate Men into the Astral Plane. They used Arken's elven ship, the 'Endeavor', and outfitted it to be an Astral ship. They then acted as the first point of contact and advanced guard for all of Faerun. They took the fight to the Githyanki and represented the first time forces from Faerun were able to attack the Githyanki on their home soil. The Desperate Men fought valiantly and continue to thwart the remaining Githyanki forces in Faerun. Rank The Commissioned and Non-commissioned ranks are the same as in the Waterdeep Military: Commissioned General Knight Captain Colonel Major Captain First Lieutenant Lieutenant Non-commissioned (All rank Corporal and higher are considered Non-commisioned officers: NCOs) Sergeant Major Master Sergeant Sergeant Corporal Specialist Private First Class Private Notable Desperate Men Sergeant Bobby DeLongsville: deceased: Founding Commanding Officer of the Desperate Men Knight-Captain Arken Dunlow: Founding Member, highest ranking officer in the Desperate Men Sergeant Sho-Pi: Founding Member. Specialist Errol 'Hawk' Hawkins: Veteran of Githyanki War, member of the squad assigned to the 'Endeavor' on its mission on the Astral Plane. Corporal Jordan "Sun Shine" Masterson: Veteran of Githyanki War, member of the squad assigned to the 'Endeavor' on its mission on the Astral Plane. Gunner: Veteran of Githyanki War, member of the squad assigned to the 'Endeavor' on its mission on the Astral Plane. Scoutmaster Broderick "Brody" Trublood: deceased: Veteran of Githyanki War, member of the squad assigned to the 'Endeavor' on its mission on the Astral Plane. Red Cloud Private Dristin Doeslayer: only given title so that he would offically be part and therefore subject to taking orders. Unoffically he will never be promoted but has kept his rank so that he may be called upon should they need one of his talents. Latest notes from Campaign Hawk, Gunner, Sun Shine, Red Cloud, Kun-low, and Helix Brief recap of events Hardbuckler Hawk, Gunner and Sun Shine meet Kun-low, Helix and Oran in Heartwing estate. The Desperate Men and the Jedi have received orders to travel to Hardbuckler (a town in the Heartlands) in order to liberate the citizens from Githyanki imprisonment. The group set off, and about a day from Hardbuckler, they ran into a wagon. The wagon was being piloted by a githyanki and accompanied by four bug bears, an ogre, a satyr and a displacer beast. The Desperate Men / Jedi laid an ambush. Oran, the padawan was killed early in the fight by the githyanki. The others rallied and defeated the monsters. Before he died, Oran was successful in rendering the Satyr unconscious (which was his desire, since it was discussed that the Satyr was probably under some mental compulsion from the githyanki). After that battle, the group freed the humans that were being transported in the wagon. Also, during the post fight conference, Kun-low and Hawk got into a discussion concerning the course of action. The Satyr was revived and bound, and showed the effects of still being under some sort of Githyanki mental influence. While Hawk and Kun-low discussed their options (or lack thereof), Sun Shine sneaked into the wagon and executed the Satyr. The group then continued on to Hardbuckler. They were joined by Red Cloud, who had traveled hard to catch up. They scouted the area, and found the three buildings holding the prisoners. They estimated around 30 Githyanki and a handful of Demons. They formed a half cocked plan to hijack the flying Githyanki ship and use that to transport the prisoners to safety. Sun Shine and Kun-low sneaked into the village and setup near one of the buildings housing three prisoners who seemed to be under special guard. They waited for the others to steal the ship, hoping that many of the githyanki would vacate their post to investigate the ship. Hawk, Gunner, Red Cloud, and Helix rode on summoned Dire Bats up to the ship and attacked. They quickly took the upper deck, and advanced down to the Helm. A fast and furious fight swung in the favor of the Desperate Men. Using his experience from the Astral, Hawk then Piloted the ship down to the prisoner buildings while Gunner, Red Cloud, and Helix fire arrows and spells from the upper deck at the Githyanki below. Sunshine and Kun-low freed the 3 prisoners, from a half dozen githyanki and a demon. They then called on backup (gunner answered the call) and freed a paladin from a nearby building. They then broke into the main building. A frenzied fight took place where the Desperate Men and Kun-low just barely came out on top. one point in the fight Sun Shine was at -3, and Gunner was at -9 Star Mountains After the events in Hardbuckler Bravo Company (the new name for the group consisting of Kun-low, Helix, Hawk, Sun Shine, Gunner, Red Crow, and new member Davun Scruthers), began their return to Waterdeep. On the way back they received new orders to aid some refugees in the Star Mountains. Reports indicated that Githyanki (including at least one Sith) had enslaved a Green Dragon and were hunting refugees in the Star Mountains spurred the orders. Bravo Company altered course and then set down in the Star Mountains. They encountered mass graves of refugees and were ambushed by Githyanki. Ultimately they made their way to the Green Dragon's lair and fought the Githayanki and Dragon. During the fight, Helix was killed by Scallindra the Skinscribe. Darth Rend was also slain, as was the Green Dragon. Most of the githyanki were routed, but some leadership managed to escape. The githyanki leader was named Krundore, a skilled monk. Overconfident, he left his dragon mount and tried to face the PCs face-to-face. He was overwhelmed by the group, that also included the battered Hill Giant Bill. Upon his death, Scallindra left the chamber and retreated further into the mountain for reinforcements. She went to her personal chamber where her current lover awaited; Bakriis the Hezrou. Scallindra and Bakriis summoned several dozen dretches and other minor demons to send at the group. Shortly after killing the green dragon, Elaacrimalicros, the wave of demons flooded from the upper level and onto the PCs. The PCs rallied, meeting the demonic force head on. After a long and bloody battle, the group managed to kill all the demons. It was decided to leave the mountain as soon as possible in case more demons, githyanki, or other troops could be summoned. Bloody and battered, the group left, carrying their fallen comrade with them. Just before leaving the lair, a message carried by the wind echoes in the ears of Bravo Company, "I have killed them all. You were so close to saving them, and yet you have failed. 29 men, woman, and children were killed in a gas chamber further into the mountain because of your feeble attempt. Do not put me far from your thoughts "would-be-heroes", Scallindra the Skinscribe shall murder even more of your people. And again, you will probably fail to prevent me from doing so. Helix and the 29 refugees were just the start. I so relish a worthy adversary. I pray that you do not disappoint". The group makes it back to the ship a full day later without any trouble. The two wizards had spent some time concealing the ship even more with natural cover and other implements. They said that a small ship had passed by a few times but didn't seem to locate the hidden ship. Daggerford 1374 12/25 Bravo Company's new orders are to come back to HQ (Waterdeep) to re-supply, debrief, and possibly pick up more crew members. Bravo Company receives a new directive from Jedi Master Ronan to Jedi Master Kun-low: "We have received reports from the Duke of Daggerford, Pwyll Greatshout, that they have been attacked by githyanki. Pwyll and a guard of 50 men have taken refuge in the Daggerford Forest. They are awaiting your arrival and have been instructed to follow Bravo Company's orders. He reports around 200 dead and 600 prisoners along with extensive damage to the small city." "Tango Company was stationed in Daggerford helping to arm the people in case of attack. Pwyll states only 1 member made it out with him and his men and that the rest are unaccounted for. Your primary objective is to rescue Tango Company. Secondary objectives include rescuing the 600 prisoners, taking back the village, killing and/or capturing the enemy forces. Once you arrive and assess the situation, report back your plans." "We also believe the githyanki spellcaster you encountered back at the Starmounts is tracking you. Be careful as she is a dangerous one. And as always, may the force be with you." First Contact in Daggerford Bravo Company loaded up onto the Astral Brig, christened the Endeavor II, heads for the Daggerford Forest in search of Pwyll Greatshout, his men, and Wayne Minnick. They eventually track them to where they were in a standoff with the githyanki hunting party and winter wolves. With escape or victory far from a possibility, Pwyll surrendered his position and ordered his men to surrender to the githyanki. The githyanki marched the prisoners into an ambush set by the Desperate Men, consisting of Sunshine, Bloodrain, Atreus, and Wayne. The githyanki captain, who was the nominal leader of the raiding party in Daggerford was killed. Bloodrain and Wayne were brought down by the captain's massive winter wolf, the pack leader. Atreus and Sunshine fled to the northeast toward the river and covered their tracks to avoid pursuit. The rendezdevous point is a day from now, and new plans must be formulated. Bloodrain and Wayne are considered M.I.A. until further investigation. Assault on Daggerford Bravo Company picked up Corporal Sunshine and Atreus at the rendezvous point and then called in for backup. A griffon rider platoon and a battalion from Baldur's Gate (who happened to be 2 days out) were dispatched. The Baldurians and the Griffon Riders joined up with Bravo Company, and a two pronged attack commenced. The bulk of the combined forces attacked from the southern section of the city where previous battles had already ruined a section of the city wall. A team of commandos from Bravo Company attacked the castle from the east. The commando team, led by Captain John Miller, consisted of Sunshine, Brandon Melphon, Aleksei, Ka'a, Beornibur, Chuckles, Slate, Cy, and Lucky. They dropped in from Griffon back inside the inner courtyard of the castle and fought their way inside. They encountered heavy resistance inside the castle and fought their way down to the dungeon. They broke into the dungeon and fought a Vrock and several githyanki captains. Overcoming the prison guards, they freed the prisoners, and led them to the Endeavor II, which was awaiting prisoner retrieval. The main assault consists of 150 soldiers from Baldur's Gate, 65 Waterhavian Griffon Riders (10 are being used to drop off Captain Miller and his crew at the Prison), and the rest of Bravo Company (16 Men). The Endeavor II is to be used as a rescue boat for prisoners. Radio, Stede, Kun-low, Davun, Dexter, and Owen are manning the boat. The assault is from the breach in the wall in the southern section (across from the Waterman's circle, building 16). The attack then splits into a western, central, and eastern front. They are to advance north block by block. The Western front consists of 25 Baldurians, Hawk, Mal, Gunner, and Jackie. The Central front consists of 50 Baldurians, Red Crow, Atreus, Shinjo, Aslim, Darim, and Spook. The Eastern front consists of 75 Baldurians, Goodwine, Bjorn, Cliff, Garreth, Whisper, and Rexxer. Overhead the 65 griffon riders are to support the ground attack, relay information, and are nominally spread (about 10 on the West, 20 in the Center, and 35 in the East). The Western team encountered stiff resistance in clearing the buildings in the South of Daggerford. They found respite in a Church of Tempus. The church was then converted to a triage and a fall back point. Hawk led the Western front to the Daggerford Barracks in the South West corner of the city. There, they encountered two units of Githyanki who were reinforced with a trio of abishai. Hawk led his unit of Desperate Men around to the backside of the Barracks, while the Baldurians and their captain came around the other side of the Barracks. A prolonged battle ensued. The Desperate Men and the Baldurians were gaining the advantage on the Githyanki unti the Abishai pitched in. Unable to overcome the demons' natural defenses, the men struggled to fend off their magical attacks. Luckily a unit of Waterhavian griffon riders had been monitoring their progress. Seeing their opportunity while two of the three abishai were on the roof of the barracks, they swooped in and drove off the demonic pair. Once isolated, the remaining abishai was unable to sway the battle, and the Allied forces took the barracks. The battle claimed the lives of three Baldurians. Seven more of the Baldurian soldiers were too injured to carry on the fight, and were transferred back to the Church of Tempus. The Eastern team also fared well. The met little resistance until they reached the South Eastern corner of the city. A unit of Githyanki soldiers were waiting for them in the Shipyards. Goodwine led the Deperate Men and a unit of the Baldurians into the shipyards. A furious battle was waged inside the ship building facility. Meanwhile, outside of the building, two of Cliff's mephit familiars scouted the second story of the building. Under strict orders to 'stay close, and to keep from battle' they promptly ventured around the side of the building and fought their way inside on the second story. Their exuberance quickly turned the lumber filled shipyards into an inferno. After killing the the githyanki leadership, the rank and file quickly fled or were cut down. Goodwine then led the team into position in the south east. As a whole, the Eastern team suffered zero casualties, and 6 significant injuries. The Central team, led by Red Crow, moved into position, and began their house to house clearing pattern. The quickly located enemy positions and engaged. A githyanki unit containing several powerful undead beings had holed up in a house with several resistance fighters as captives. Red Crow ordered the men to smoke out the githyanki. They set fire to the building, while taking up position around the exits. The githyanki and undead created their own exit point at a weak point in the Allied circle. The githyanki/undead contingent attacked a weak point in the Allied line. The Desperate Men recovered, and ultimately drove the githyanki into retreat, but not before taking significant losses. Darim Mulvaney, Aslim "Hammer" McGrath, and 7 Baldurians lost their lives in the battle. Following the Assault on the castle and the freeing of the prisoners, Captain Miller and his unit cleared the rest of the castle and attacked the githyanki forces holding the gate to the Castle. The githyanki had two giants and six arrow demons in their ranks. Captain Miller led a co-ordinated strike and successfully took the gate house. Ka'a Frostburn lost his life in the assault. Captain Miller's attack and capturing of the castle broke the back of the Githyanki force. With the three divisions of the army having successfully advanced the Allied position in the south, the surviving githyanki offered little resistance. Small pockets of githyanki were hunted down throughout the city. Over the next 8 hours, these githyanki were killed or driven out. Three more Baldurians were killed during that stage of the taking of Daggerford. XP for Desperate Men (for the assault on Daggerford) West, Central, and Eastern Teams: 6th level duders: 2300 7th level duders: 2000 8th level duders: 1700 Castle and Main Gate Teams: 6th level duders: 5000 7th level duders: 4700 8th level duders: 4400 Assault on the Mosque of Tyr Twelve miles south of Daggerford, a Mosque of Tyr fell under the influence of the Githyanki. After Sunshine, Atreus, and Bloodrain were dropped off to scout Daggerford, the Endeavor II ventured to the Mosque. There, specialist Hawkins led a team to eradicate the githyanki controlling the Mosque. Hawk, Gunner, Bjorn, Brandon Melphon, Red Crow, and Mal dropped in and attacked the Mosque. In the upper levels they freed a gnomish prisoner. Brandon proved his mettle by safely (relatively speaking) maneuvering the team through a series of traps. In the lower levels, the assault team encountered stiff resistance. They fought their way deeper into the recesses of the mosque. Ultimately, they found their way to an elevator shaft. Hawk, being the CO on the mission, went down the shaft first. Hawk encountered a dangerous host of undead, golems, githyanki, and an illithid. They were tending to a nest of githyanki young. Wasting no time, Hawk detonated a fireball in the cavern. He fire bombed the young and fled back into the elevator. They called in the intel, and were ordered out of the Mosque. With the breeding stock identified and destroyed, with zero Bravo Company casualties and all slaves liberated, the mission was deemed a total success. The assault team then rejoined Bravo Company on the Endeavor II and returned to Daggerford to participate in the operation in Daggerford. Diplomatic Rescue Mission 1/2 Shortly after Daggerford is retaken, help is requested from the Desperate Men. Sources in Secomber report that a small caravan coming down the trail from Loudwater (and points beyond) has gone missing. The guards sent a patrol to find the caravan and discovered only it's remains. The Desperate Men were contacted for help because the caravan included a diplomatic envoy from Cormyr. The envoy was coming by this roundabout route to avoid githyanki troubles around Scornubel and was on his way to Waterdeep. Upon searching the remains of the caravan, there was no sign of the envoy. The Desperate Men board the Endeavor II out of Daggerford and head east, dropping an away team consisting of Rexxar, Gunner, Garreth, Chuckles, Sunshine, and Wade at a waypoint between Secomber and Zelbross. There, the team is joined by a local tracker and asked to locate the missing envoy. The team travels east along the road, locating the caravan that evening. Investigation by the group and the tracker reveals that the caravan was attacked by a band of ogres and gnolls, with the tracks of large wolves also present. Tracks lead south from the road towards the Tabath Hills. The party begins tracking in earnest, but is forced to stop for the night and make camp. The chase is rejoined the next morning, and the tracks are followed into the opening of a small gully. Suspecting a possible ambush, Sunshine takes to the shadows and head up to the rim of the gully where he locates a pair of gnoll watchers. The pair is dispatched ninja-style and Sunshine returns to the party, then head up the other rim. Sunshine finds two more gnolls, but forgets his ninja-stealth training this time and one of the gnolls escapes. Knowing they are about to loose the element of surprise, the party rushes down the gully. They arrive at a clear area in time to see the escaped gnoll climbing down a ladder to a large crude wooden door set into the gully wall. Gunner places a heavy crossbow bolt in the gnoll's spine and it falls to the ground in front of the door. After an ogre comes out to investigate the noise, Gunner shoots again. The ogre runs back inside and the door slams shut behind him. The party is now faced with breaking into a forewarned and fortified position. Gareth, Rexxar, and Chuckles break through the door in short order to find a short hallway leading into a room where two ranks of gnoll archers fire from behind cover and a number of ogre warriors await melee combat. After a fierce battle, only one ogre leaves the room alive, and it is not Rexxar. The remaining soldiers press on, and delve deeper into the humanoid warrens. They face stiff resistance every step of the way and ultimately reach the imprisoned cormyreans. The Desperate Men free the surviving prisoners and escort them back to the surface, where upon, the dimplomat disappears. It turns out that the entire diplomatic mission was a facbrication of an outlaw known as Theodore Cooper, as a way for him to flee Cormyr. The Defense of Scornubel 1/3 A githyanki general named Scour has established a strong position in Elturel. With the surrounding cities of Soubar, Triel and Berdusk all either destroyed or under Githyanki control, Scornubel is of strategic importance. Scour seems to have dispatched a force to take Scornubel. Allied forces are en route to rebuff this attempt. Waterdeep has sent a unit of the Desperate Men (Red Crow, Slate Stonehold, Cliff Craven, Owen, Shinjo, Dexter the Molester, and Harrold Nimitz) in as an advanced team to organize a defense. Their orders are to rendezvous with the Red Shields in Scornubel, construct a defense plan and wait on Cormyrean support. Secomber 1/23 The Desperate Men in Secomber (Sunshine, Gunner, Chuckles, and Garreth) fresh from their mission to Rescue Cormyrean Diplomats accept an offer from a local leader to investigate and elimate a nearby supernatural threat. The group ventures into a mine and battles with ancient warring factions of ghost sorcerers and gargoyles. They free two ancient prisoners, quinton and Aria. Quiton aids the group in defeating the sorcerers. Aria turns out to be a villain, whom is recaptured and turned over to officials in Secomber. Durimek / Mholor Durinhal 2/1: Dwarven Allies report that a recent earthquake has damaged the Fortress defending the Mines of Durimek. Combined with the recent underdark activity (fed by the githyanki shakeup), the Mines have fallen to humanoid forces. Gunner leads a team with Hawk, Beornibur, Dargrum, and Luke to the mines. The meet up with Hogram Howitzer, a dwarven soldier from Citadel Felbarr. Together with a team of dwarves, the Desperate Men retake the Fortress. The leader of the humanoid force escapes into the mountains. 2/2: Gunner and team leave the Fortress in Dwarven hands, and begin their winter trek to the town of Dead Snows (where their orders indicate that they are supposed to assist with a local disturbance, and then settle in for the rest of the winter). 2/3: The team encounter a group of Barghests feeding on the bodies of 2 dwarves. They kill the barghests, and discover that one of the dwarves is carrying a message. The message indicates that there is a dwarven company in severe distress at a holy site known as Mholor Durinhal. Gunner and team advance to the holy site, and discover a small group of dwarves holding an advancing horde of humanoids at bay. The Desperate Men join in the battle. Hours into the defense, Gunner got pulled off of his dire bat mount, and plunged thousands of feet down into the chasm. Unbeknownst to his allies, the fall was great enough to allow him to drink a potion of levitation. Gunner was then able to safely lower himself down to the ground/water below. Moments later, Dargrum, over balanced himself with a wild swing of his sword and pitched himself off the ledge as well. Unfortunately, he had no magical baubles with which to arrest his descent. Despite a serious shake in morale, the remaining Desperate Men heroically continue the fight up top. The situation began to look dire. The defenders had been split, multiple dwarves and deperate men were unconscious or dead; Luke rallies the men with some creative spell casting and keeps the resistance alive, but pays for his heroism with his life. Ultimately, reinforcements arrive. At the time of the arrival of the Desperate Men to the Gorge, there were 6 dwarves (Addergem, Gregor, Melgard, Keldar, Whistler, and Ulren) and 5 Desperate Men (Gunner, Hawk, Dargrum, Luke, and Beornibur). As a group, the defenders defeated 500 arachnid kobolds, 12 gricks, 12 arachnid ogres, 8 ineffable horrors, 2 stone singers, and a dread harpoon spider. In the process Dargrum, Addergem, and Luke were killed in action, and Gunner is missing in action. XP for Mholor Durinhal 5th level dudes: (Keldar, Melgard): 9,000 6th level dudes: (Beornibur, Ulren, Whistler): 7,200 7th level dudes: (Hawk, Gregor): 6,300 8th/9th level dudes: (Gunner): 4,000 Mirum's Hold 2/3 The town has been taken over by orcs. A charismatic and disciplined Half Orc / Half Ogre named Nijak (spelling?) has overrun the town. Instead of pillaging, he has tunred the residents into serfs. Essentially the human populace works as normal, yet all profits go to the warrior class (the orcs). The militia in the town was out smarted by Nijak. on 1/4, He drew the militia out of the town with a decoy group, and waited for the humans to cross a strategic bridge. Then, with the main body of the orcs, he circled in behind the militia and cut them off at the bridge. That allowed for a relatively small force of orcs to hold the militia at the bridge, while the rest of the orcs could move in to overtake the lightly defended town. Since then, the militia has been camped in the mountains outside the town, acting as a guerilla force. A group of desperate men were sent in to aid the village. Sunshine, Cy, Whisper and Snake dropped in and hiked towards the village. Near the town, they came across the remains of a group of dwarven craftsmen. While investigating the remains, they were ambushed by a dozen vampire spawn. During the fight, a snow gorilla burst out from the wilderness and began fighting the vampire spawn alongside the soldiers. The gorilla turned out to be an awakened ''compatriot of the druid Autumnleaf Springfoot. Snake joined up with Beast (the gorilla) and left to make contact with the militia. Sunshine, Cy and Whisper continued on to Mirum's Hold. Upon making contact in Mirum's Hold, the soldiers passed themselves off as mercenaries. They met with Nijak and made a good impression. They agreed on a mercenary contract for the winter. The next night, the orcs celebrated their 1 month anniversary of the takeover. Whisper entered the gladiator tournement held for the celebration. Whisper fought his way to finals where he ultimately lost to Rijak's second in command, Demero. 2/5: Sunshine and his team were given the assignment to take out a "rebel" fort. At the fort, sunshine secretly made contact with the milita-men inside. There, they concocted a plan. They were going to smuggle some of the smoke powder from the fort back to Mirum's Hold. The plan was multifaceted and awesome. It was, however, interupted. That night, Sunshine smuggled a few barrels of smoke powder out of the fort, and began placing them in strategic locations along the city walls. The next day (at this point only half of the smoke powder had been positioned), Nijak showed up at the camp. It seems that another orc tribe had made its way to Mirrum's Hold and was set to join Nijak, but the militia was holding them off at a pass. Nijak had assembled a cavalry unit in order to punch a hole through the human lines. Nijak politely requested both Sunshine's and Whisper's presence at the battle. Upon reaching the field of battle, Nijak charged forward along with a crew of elite orcs, Demero, Sunshine and Whisper. Nijak advanced to the flank of the human lines, and struck down the Captain of the Militia in a single blow. Sunshine then struck and felled Nijak with a sneak attack. Meanwhile on the opposite flank, whisper engaged Demero, and with the assistance of some archers, took down the ogre. After the death of their leader and their second in command, the humanoid advance stalled. The orcs withdrew, and fled back to the village. At this point two other Desperate Men arrived. Wade, the combat medic, and Davun, the warlock. Wade dispensed healing among the soldiers and as a result only 2 militiamen were lost in the engagement. Sunshine trekked back to the village, snuck in, and met with Will, a contact from Waterdeep who had been living in the village during the orc occupation. Sunshine tasked will with the distribution of the remaining smoke powder. In the mean time, Sunshine set off to assassinate any potential orcish leaders who might try to take up the reigns of the fallen Nijack. Sunshine snuck into the castle, made his way to the bowels, and found himself inside a room with (Insert Name here), a former tribal leader. Sunshine assassinated the potential leader, and his second in command. Sunshine then tried to fight his way free, but orcs on the outside had been alerted. Since Sunshine killed anyone who entered the room, Ryzack (another potential leader) ordered that the room be sealed from the outside. Sunshine consigned himself to a long, uncomfrotable night. Ryzack, though, contacted several mercanery wizards, and offered them money in exchange for dealing with the assassin in the castle. Will caught word of this and allied himself with one of the wizards (named Kaila). Will and Kaila then executed an extraction of the entrapped ninja. Following his escape, Sunshine slipped back out of the city and rejoined the militia, while Will and Kaila remained in the village in order to detonate the smoke powder charges from within, during the upcoming attack. 2/7: Around 9 AM, the militia marched to the village. Just outside of bowshot, they marshalled. Sunshine then snuck out in front of the men, and made his way to the wall. He detonated the first (Eastern most) charge, blowing a hole in the fortification. He then snuck his way west, along the wall, all the way to the far side. The militia then charged, looking as if they were heading towards the new opening in the defenses. This was just a diversion, as Sunshine detonated a double charge of smoke powder at his location on the western wall. the militia men charged past the first opening and fought their way into the West Wall. There, a furious battle took place. The militia forces won the field, although a sorcerous hob goblin nearly turned the tide. After the humans gained entry into the village, most of the remaining humanoids fled. With Wade's help, only about a half dozen men were killed in this day of fighting. Some 50 humanoids were taken prisoner. Rumor has it that Sunshine had them all secretly executed. Dead Snows 2/17: Hawk, Beornibur, Keldar, and Melgard arrive in the town of Dead Snows. Chilean Miners 2/8: Warren Donovan, Jaskon Huron, Slate Stonehold, along with 5 new recruits (Azel, Valdemar, Keldin, Dwarf psychic warrior, and Mr Hexblade) were sent deep into enemy territory in order to attempt a rescue on a dozen trapped soldiers. Warren led the group through the Misty Forest, and they located the trapped soldiers at the southern edge of the forest about a mile into the plains. The soldiers are surrounded by Githyanki patrols and outposts, and have sealed themselves into a cave. After two days of recon, no easy solution had presented itself. Just as the group considered digging in for a long guerilla style venture, new orders arrived at camp. See Operation Valkrye below. Rendezvous 2/28: Troops and supplies have been mvoing around all winter. The DMen have reconsolidated nearly every man in the DMen and in the regular armies of the Lord's Alliance has been rallied to several strategic points. Although the objective is still a secret, it would seem some sort of attack is imminent. Also several notable Crimson Eagles were given promotions: Beornibur and Wayne were elevated to private first class, Hawk and Red Crow were elevated to Corporal, Sunshine to Seargeant, Chuckles and Whisper to Specialist, Goodwine was moved from the non-commissioned ranks to the officer ranks as a Lieutenant. Operation Valkrye 2/11 Specialist Warren 'Flea' Donovan is given new orders to take his team south. He is to venture deep into enemy territory in order to scout the position and strength of the githyanki forces in and around Baldur's Gate. Along with Flea is his chief sniper Jaskon Huron, Specialist Davun 'Nuke' Scruthers, Private Slate Stonehold, Keldon Dreil, Valdemar Godwinson, Thomas Smith, and 'Jinx'. On the way south, the men were ambushed by a large group of githyanki led gnolls. The attackers were comprised of hyenas, a group of large hyenas, gnolls, gnoll captains, a half orc shamam, a dwarf, and a trio of githyanki. In total, more than 30 combatants converged upon the Crimson Eagles while they were camped. The men formed up and defended their position. A hard fought battle was won by the Eagles. Most of the men were wounded, with the most grievous wounds suffered by Jinx, but sound tactics, and bravery ensured that not a single life was lost on the side of the Desperate Men. Several captives were taken, including two gnoll captains, and the dwarf. During the course of questioning, it became clear that the gnolls knew very little of importance, and that the dwarf was a former Baldurian mercenary who was mentally dominated by the githyanki. Davun enacted a charm in order to counteract the mental control. The group then continued on to a rendezvous point, where they met up with a mercenary ship along the coast line. The ship itself has chameleon like abilities, and has the ability to dive underwater like a submarine. The officer on the ship is a Sergeant. Warren and the Sergeant discuss the continuing recon mission. Warren, Jaskon, and one of the Sergeant's scouts named Augra then venture forth towards Baldur's Gate with the intention of taking a githyanki captive. Around mid-day, they come across a wrecked wagon in the road. An ogre and about a half dozen goblins had attacked the wagon, and had 4 humans held hostage. Suspecting a trap, Warren circled the area, looking for hidden assailents. Finding none, he ordered Jaskon and Augra into position. They fired on the humanoids from cover. In short order they elimated the threat, with only Augra becoming slightly wounded. Then the suspected trap was sprung. Warren spotted 4 huge, flying dinosaur/dragon creatures being ridden by githyanki. Not liking the odds, Warren ordered his men to retreat into the forest. Warren also shouted to the now freed captives to also flee to the trees. The Dino-gons (as I am now calling them) proved to be very fast and quite adept at hunting fleeing prey. Jaskon and Augra took fire from the Githaynki sorcerors. The ensuing smoke and flames allowed Jaskon a chance to seek additional cover. Warren and Jaskon were able to use their training (Infiltration team maneuver) to retreat at speed, while under cover, and had to leave Augra behind. It soon became clear that the two Crimson Eagles were still being tracked, so they decided to split up. Warren sent Jaskon east where he knew there was some frontier homesteads, and mountain lakes, while he himself continued on to Rally point A in the north, in case Augra had managed to evade the pursuit. Warren spent several hours out front of his pursuing attackers, using his knowledge of the forest and ranger training to attempt to shake the trackers. He eventually reached Rally point A around 4 pm. He then waited there for about 2 hours hoping Augra would show. Augra did not show up, but some pursuing dino-gons did. So Warren then set off east in order to regroup with Jaskon. Meanwhile, Jaskon reached the homestead, but was unable to shake pursuit. He continued up some mountain streams seeking a Beaver dam. Eventually finding one, he continued past it, criss-crossing the river multiple times, before finally plunging into the frigid river and swimming back to the beaver dam. He then located a hidden entrance to the dam, and wormed his way in. Near hypothermic, Jaskon relied on his ranger training to calm the once hibernating beavers, and eventually was able to wriggle his way up to them. Stripped of his freezing, wet clothes, Jaskon cuddled up to the beavers in order to conserve body heat. He then waited the night, near freezing, practically hallucinating from hypothermia, and fully expecting the dino-gons to attack at any moment. Around 8 pm, Warren got to the homestead, found tracks belonging to Jaskon, but also found evidence of the dino-gon pursuit. Hoping to give his friend one last diversion, Warren set fire to the abandoned homestead, and reversed course. He followed his own tracks back the way he came, before diverging back into the forest. He then spent the night doubleing back, and traversing creeks and rivers in order to lose his attackers. Sometime around 10 am, Warren and Jaskon met up at Rally Point B, and then back to the coast to rendezvous with the ship. After a debrief of the failed mission, Warren and the Sergeant had a holo-meeting with Ryshod in order to discuss the danger of the presence of the mind controlled Dwarf. Ryshod recommended bringing the dwarf back to Waterdeep, where the jedi could attempt to break the mental domination. Barring that, Ryshod sadly commented that the only other option would be execution. Warren, however, had another idea. Knowing that as soon as the bard's charm on the dwarf ran its course, the Dwarf would then go runnning back to the Githyanki, Warren decided to effect a bit of subterfuge. Warren took the dwarf aside, gave him travelling supplies and told him that he had to set off for Waterdeep in order for the jedi to help him. Warren then told him that he had to hurry back after the jedi fixed him, so that he could join us for the attack upon the githyanki motherland. Warren knew full well that the dwarf would never make it all the way back to Waterdeep before the githyanki mental control reclaimed him. He also knew that the Army of the Lord's Alliance was actually planning on attacking Baldur's Gate, and thus, the dwarf would be taking back mis-information to the githyanki. Group Treasure on Astral Brig +1 Keen Greatsword (2) +2 Astral Driftmetal Breastplate* (3) +3 Crossbow Bolts, Flaming Burst (75) Masterwork Heavy Crossbow (4) +2 Breastplate (2) +1 Greatsword (2) +1 Crossbow Bolts (25) +1 Greatclub of Speed +2 Hide Armor +1 Light Mace Ring of Spell Storing (Commune) Scroll (Invisibility, Cat's Grace) Masterwork Composite Longbow (+4 Strength 250 gold pieces from everything 6 diamond worth 100 gp each Supplies for 100 soldiers to survive for 3 months Astral Driftmetal* This extraordinarily rare mineral is mined only on islands of matter floating on the Astral Plane. It is very similar to iron but has a single extraordinary feature: It is resistant to incorporeal attack. ''Possible Armor Types: It is not malleable enough to be worked into chainmail or scale mail; only a breastplate, shield, or any form of heavy armor can be made from Astral driftmetal. Note that items not primarily of metal are not meaningfully affected. Statistics: A suit of driftmetal armor weighs 5 pounds more than the same armor made of steel, but the other statistics of the armor are unchanged. It has a 25% chance of being effective against an incorporeal attack, as if it were made of force. Hardness: Astral driftmetal has a hardness of 12 and 30 hit points per inch of thickness. Former/Deceased Members of the Company Brody: Brody was an original member of Bravo company (before it was known as the Bravo Company). He was with Hawk, Gunner, and Sunshine during the campaign on the Astral. He was killed while fighting Githyanki on board a Githzerai vessel on the Astral. Oran Laszlo: Orlan was a Jedi Padowan studying under Jedi Master Kun-low. While not officially a member of Bravo Company, he was killed while helping Bravo company on its mission to liberate Hardbuckler. Helix Horn: A Jedi Padowan studying under Jedi Master Kun-low. While not officially a member of Bravo Company, he accompanied Bravo company on its mission in Hardbuckler, and in the Star Mountains.He was killed by a Githyanki spell caster (Scallindra the Skinscribe) in the Star Mountains. Aslim "Hammer" McGrath: Aslim was killed in the assault at Daggerford. As part of the "Central" Assault, he was involved in a brutal battle against a group of powerful Githyanki and Undead. Darim Mulvaney: '''Darim was also part of the Central Assault in the Battle of Daggerford. He was the first to leap into battle against the Undead in the same fight that Aslim perished in. '''Ka'a Frostburn: Ka'a was part of the Prisoner rescue team led by Captain Miller in the Battle of Daggerford. After successfully freeing the prisoners, the team advanced to the main gate house of the castle. At the gate house, they battled Giants, Demons and Githyanki. Ka'a lost his life while battling the demons. Rexxar "Chief": '''The much maligned Ogre was part of the away team, led by Corporal Sunshine, sent to investigate the disappearance of a Cormyrean emissary. Rexxer took part in assaulting a lair of gnolls and ogres. Although vastly outnumbered, Chief stood his ground against the ogres, and ultimately gave his life, after felling several of his enemies. '''Dargrim Delzoun "Turtle": '''Dargrim was killed on the Bridge of Mholor Durinhal. He was a veteran of the Battle of Durimek. Just after the liberation of Durimek, Turtle ventured to Mholor Durinhal along with Gunner, Hawk, Beornibur and Luke. Turtle fought valiently against a relentless horde of underdark beasts. He was the prime instigator to the Desperate Men aiding the dwarves, and took the point position for the bulk of the defense. Ultimately, he met his doom by losing his balance on the bridge and falling into the gorge. '''Luke: Like Dargrim, Luke's first mission was the liberation of Durimek. He then ventured with the same team to Mholor Durinhal. During the fight on the bridge, Luke distinguished himself as a hero. Luke was killed while facing down a Stone Singer. Luke was credited with rescuing several of the dwarves and Depserate Men just prior to his death. Echo Company Echo Company is the cavalry division of the Desperate Men. It's commanding officer is Sir Artus Ector III, a captain in the Waterhavian army. Echo company is a small group of mounted combat specialists. Its members do not typically exude as much of the outlaw bravado as other Desperate Men companies (notably Bravo Company). This is probably due to the fact that the maneuvers and co-ordination for mounted combat requires more discipline and training, than the infantry companies. Also, most of the members of Echo company hail from military and ecclesiastic backgrounds, and have already had quite a bit of formation and tactical training. Also, not all the members in Echo Company were recruited in a similar fashion as other companies in the Desperate Men. Many were originally in Waterdeep's regular army, and were reassigned, or volunteered for a post with the Desperate Men. Notable Echo Company Members Charlie Company Charlie Company is the main branch of the Desperate Men. They spend most of their time in Waterdeep training with Calis's Eagles. They are tasked with being the first response team to any threat to Waterdeep. Their numbers fluctuate as many Charlie Company members get transferred to the mobile groups, or get promoted to NCO (and sometimes CO) positions in the Main Waterhavian Regular Army. Dwarves from Mholor Durinhal This group of dwarves were encountered at the bridge of Mholor Durinhal. A unit of Desperate Men came to their aid when the Dwarven holy site was under attack. In repayment of the aid and sacrifice shown by the Desperate Men, this small group of dwarves has volunteered to aid the Desperate Men. Notable Members Fox Company Fox Company is not a true division. Its members are typically assigned to other companies. Fox Company is composed of guerrilla fighters, snipers, and scouts. They specialize in working deep behind enemy lines, scouting, and harrying the opposition. Occasionally, they are tabbed to specifically target enemy leaders, and important personel (essentially assassinations). Notable Members Category:Groups Category:Desperate Men